A Simple Method to Synthesize Nano-Sized 3C-SiC Powder Using Hexamethyldisilane in a CVD Reactor

Abstract

In this paper, we report a novel route to synthesize nano-sized cubic silicon carbide (3CSiC) powder by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) technique in a resistance-heated furnace. The nanoparticles were deposited on the relatively cold region of a hot-wall quartz reactor. Hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) was used as the source material for both silicon and carbon. The presence of crystalline 3C-SiC was identified using powder x-ray diffraction (XRD) technique. From the XRD data, the crystallite size was also estimated to be in the range of nanometers (nm). A clear evidence of the particle size (~ 10 - 30 nm) was obtained by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Selected area electron diffraction (SAED) was carried out on the nanoparticle assembly. The ring shaped pattern is a clear indication of polycrystalline particle formation. High resolution TEM (HRTEM) of nanoparticles was performed to study the crystal structure in detail. The nanoparticles were also characterized by Raman spectroscopy at room temperature. Finally, the influence of the growth parameters is also reported in the present study.